for the Patriots this draft with what experts thought about them. Now here are the 56 players that I believe the Patriots will target of those 125, with my opinion about each prospect. And I will list why I'm confident about these prospects at the end.
QB
Jake Haener - Fresno State
Cerebral west coast quarterback with below average arm strength that relies on timing routes. Comes with potential starting ability.
Clayton Tune- Houston
West coast - spread quarterback with mechanic issues that hinder arm strength. Cerebal but needs to pull the trigger sooner as his timing for a timing quarterback is a hair off.
RB
Devon Achane - Texas A&M
A committee back that can lineup in the slot and be a weapon on both third and passing downs, while providing help in the return game.
Khalan Laborn - Marshall
Five Star recruit that got buried on depth charts after suffering injury. An under utilized three down back that can lineup in the slot.
Evan Hull - Northwestern
A modern Brandon Bolden, can do it all and is underrated in most categories. Will be a valuable committee back.
Toa Taua - Nevada
A number one in college that is a good third down and passing back. While he might not be a number one at the pro levels, he could serve as the 2 in a one - two punch stable. And he provides special teams ability
FB
Josh Whyle - Cincinnati
Think Larry Centers. Not the strongest blocker but makes up for it with his hands. He has the ability to lineup as an in-line or slot tight end.
Hunter Luepke - North Dakota
An H-back - superback a position the Patriots have struggled with. If the team wants a Kyle Juszczyk, this is their guy. He can lineup anywhere.
Brayden Willis - Oklahoma
Willis cam lineup in-line at tight end but he's better suited for the fullback role. Like with Devlin and Jacob Johnson, Willis will be a surprise weapon out of the backfield in both the run and the pass.
Jack Colletto - Oregon State
The reverse Elandon Roberts. A two way player that's better at fullback than at linebacker. Similar but less polished version of Luepke.
WR
Josh Downs - North Carolina
A slot with flanker ability that can be moved around and create mismatches. Capable of being a security blanket.
Jalin Hyatt - Tennessee
While not as high of a floor as Downs, he is the same type of weapon with the need for more development.
Marvin Mims - Oklahoma
Can attack every inch of grass. A flanker that can be moved around into other roles. While not a number one in a traditional offense, he could easily fill that role for the Patriots.
David Durden - West Florida
A true number one X from D2 who suffered a hand injury. Has versatility to line up at any receiver position. And has that special teams upside to where he could be a returner or be a candidate to replace Slater.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton - West Virginia
An athletic big body receiver built like a move tight end. May struggle with seperation but is capable of being the guy the Patriots wanted N'Keal Harry to be.
Andrei Losivas - Princeton
An X with speed that can attack everywhere. If a team can get him to put in the work, to complete his route tree, he could develop into a true receiver. Currently he's a developmental number two.
TE
Tucker Kraft - South Dakota St
Hunter Henry 2.0, little raw but more athletic. With Henry being in contract year, having a clone on deck to replace him could be a worthy investment.
Darnell Washington - Georgia
He's versatility and can be moved around. A solid receiving threat that is a better blocker. A generic version of Rob Gronkowski would be a good description.
Zack Kuntz - Old Dominion
If Kraft is a Henry clone, Kuntz is a Gesicki clone. He could use some development and sitting a year behind Gesicki could give the Patriots time to improve his blocking.
Leonard Taylor - Cincinnati
A raw or unproven inline tight end that got buried on a depth chart. A versatile blocking tight end with underrated receiving abilities.
E.J. Jenkins - Georgia Tech
Another move tight end that is an oversized receiver. Not as polished as Kuntz but is another Gesicki replacement that needs some development in his blocking.
OT
Darnell Wright - Tennessee
A raw swing tackle that looks like an underdeveloped Trent Brown. Without Scar, he's probably not a year one starter.
Anton Harrison - Oklahoma
A starting swing tackle that needs to improve as a run blocker. And who needs to get stronger to avoid getting pushed around.
Tyler Steen - Alabama
A developmental potential starting swing tackle that needs to be calmed down, as he can be a bit over aggressive.
Carter Warren - Pittsburgh
A developmental swing tackle with potential starting ability that has holes in the run game.
Trevor Reid - Lousiville
A developmental swing tackle with starting potential that needs to get stronger if he's going to play at the NFL level.
IOL
Luke Wypler - Ohio State
A weaker version of David Andrews. Will need to spend some time in the weight room but has starting potential.
Andrew Vorhees - USC
An interior lineman with the ability to play outside if need be. Needs to develop as a pass blocker but has starting potential.
Jake Andrews - Troy
A potential starting interior lineman who needs to learn technique and to play with his head up.
Brett Laing - Minnesota-Duluth
A D2 lineman that can play across the line. Undersized for the outside and needs to add strength for the interior but has shown starting potential.
Dalton Simpler - West Florida
Similar to Laing and will need to add 20 pounds but has show starting traits. Being a day 3 prospect, he's worth a flyer.
DL
Jalen Carter- Georgia
A prototype lineman. Carter would add an extra element to the Patriots interior as not only can he pass rush but he can clog the middle preventing backs from coming through.
Siaki Ika - Baylor
A nose tackle that can stop the run and disrupt the pocket in passing down. The last guy the Patriots had like this was Danny Shelton.
Gervon Dexter - Florida
If the Patriots want to add a second Christian Barmore, this is the guy. Needs some development with technique but will start.
Robert Cooper - Florida State
Another nose tackle that could be a two down starter early. Needs some development in his pass rush but versus the run, is a wall.
Brodric Martin - Western Kentucky
An interior run defender that shows some promise against the pass but needs development in that department.
LB
Dorian Williams - Tulane
A side to side linebacker with starting upside and special teams value that needs some polishing and to learn to move his eyes.
Byron Young - Tennessee
Exterior linebacker that as a rusher needs to learn to get stronger. Not just an edge rusher as people cast him to be.
Drew Sanders - Arkansas
A raw sideline to sideline player that needs development versus both the run and the pass but has starting traits.
Dee Winters - TCU
A sideline to sideline linebacker with a high motor that plays too aggressive and needs development against the run.
Aubrey Miller Jr. - Jackson
A sideline to sideline linebacker that excels in coverage and provides help on special teams but needs to improve as a tackler.
CB
Emmanuel Forbes - Mississippi St
Aggrrssibe elite corner that can improve in man coverage, which is already good but can play zone in his sleep.
Deonte Banks - Maryland
Man corner that needs to develop in zone coverage and can be a little stiff for a starter.
Tyrique Stevenson - Miami
Press man corner that can play safety but needs to develop his zone coverage as a defensive back.
Garrett Williams - Syracuse
Starting corner kept down by an ACL injury, needs to learn to get head around in coverage.
Tre'vius hodges-tomlison - TCU
Slot corner that needs to improve on tackling but could help with Jonathan Jones probably gone.
S
Cory Trice - Purdue
Many see a corner but a move to safety would be wise. As a corner, he's just depth but he will start at safety.
Ronnie Hickman - Ohio State
He's a do a little bit of everything guy at safety. Which would allow for matchup nightmares for Offensive play callers.
Antonio Johnson - Texas A&M
The Patriots like that Kyle Dugger type and Johnson's comp is Dugger. Like Hickman, Johnson can be moved around and create mismatches.
Riley Moss - Iowa
Another corner who's better moved to safety. And he provides value on special teams. Not the best in man coverage and needs to clean up his tackling.
Christian Izien - Rutgers
A safety with corner athleticism. He's a true DB and can be used many ways. While I see him playing deep, he has no true role.
K
Chad Ryland - Maryland
Acurate, except around 66% rate between 30 and 40 yards but he's good from 40 to 50 and 55% over 50 yards.
Jake Moody - Michigan
More accurate under 50 than Ryland but only 40% over 50 yards.
P
Ethan Evans- Wingate
Depending on who's asked, he's the second best Punter behind Turk. And his leg time is reportedly averaged at 46 yards with a hangtime of 4.11 at a pre draft workout. He also does kickoffs and is the backup kicker. *See @IsaacPunts on twitter for more info on him.*
Michael Turk - Oklahoma
Like Evans, Turk Reportedly can average 46 yards with a 4.1 hangtime but Turk has trouble with direction and keeping the ball in the 20. Turk's leg maybe more powerful than Evans (maybe) but I think Evans is more accurate.
LS
Chris Stoll - Penn St
Was the Patrick Mannelly Award winner in 2022 and was the nominee of two awards in 2021. His winning of the Mannelly award says he was the best long snapper in the nation. On top of that he actually has weight to him, so he can be asked to block if need be. Long Snapper might not be pretty but Cardona has already played longer than the average for his position. It's time to bring in competition. Why not the best of it?
In 2022, I got right Marcus and Jack Jones, Zappe, Roberts, Hines and Stueber. That's 6 out of 10 picks or 60%. And in 2021, I picked Mac, Perkins, McGrone, Bledsoe and Sherman. That's 55% of the draft I got right. I got 50% in 2020, 70% in 2019, and 88% in 2018. My prospects average 64.6% over the last 5 drafts, so I expect 7 of their 2023 selections to be among these 56 prospects.
